The parish of South Walsham St Mary lies in eastern Norfolk roughly 3 miles northwest of the large village of Acle. South Walsham is unusual in having two churches within the same churchyard and St Mary remains as the main parish church whilst St Lawrence has been deconsecrated and is nowadays an educational centre. South Walsham is a mid-sized village which sits a half mile east of the B1140 road which connects Acle with Wroxham. South Walsham sits on the southern edges of the broad flood-plain of the River Bure, it being connected to that waterway by it own South Walsham Broad & the Fleet Dike, the village is very much a Broadland centre. Access to the resources of waterfowl, reed and river traffic would have given South Walsham a more diverse economy than many Norfolk villages, the presence of grazing marshes alongside the Bure would have also varied the farming regime from the typical arable which nevertheless predominated on higher and drier ground. Today South Walsham has grown into a small commuter settlement which serves the nearby city of Norfwich whilst providing the rural setting many folk desire.

The twin churchyard sits on the northern side of The Street with St Mary the easterly of the two churches. Like many such churches in Norfolk St Mary is a mixture of the twin styles of the late 13th, 14th and 15th centuries, Decorated followed by Perpendicular. From the earlier Decorated period Pevsner notes the arcades, the southern aisle windows and the chancel arch and the southern side windows of the chancel. Complimenting this style there are Perpendicular windows on the northern aisle, these are probably 14th century. The 15th century, still in Perpendicular, saw the southern porch (which is documented by a will to the 1450s) and the western tower with its western window. Strangely the Victorian restorers chose to insert Decorated style belfry openings into an otherwise Perpendicular tower. Pevsner does not give a date or architect for whatever Victorian restoration took place other than it was 19th century. The site is faced to The Street with a chest-high brick wall with the main entrance and car park at the western end. Around St Mary the churchyard is uncluttered and with no obvious obstacles to the photographer.